Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 43 - The Dangers of Greed

~~ Elena ~~

The rest of the day was spent avoiding Alfrid and his minions as much as possible while still trying to help with the preparations. It was made a little difficult by the fact that there weren't many places to go in Lake-town while they waited for the boats to return, but they managed to  pull it off for most of the day. Alfrid returned in the late afternoon and dismissed the remaining crowds after the last boats had left, telling everyone that it would be too dark to navigate by the time they returned. 

Unfortunately, he also managed to snag Fíli and Elena, and insisted on them spending the night in the Master's mansion. And, under the pretense that the town was less safe at night, he stuck a guard with them, who would escort them back to the mansion when it was time to eat. And this time, unlike earlier, the guard stuck close enough to them that there would be no sneaking off or careful conversations.

They ended up sitting at the edge of a dock, feet dangling above the water and the Lonely Mountain visible in the mist as the sun slowly began to set, their guard a short distance behind them. 

"Think they'll be all right?" Elena murmured, her eyes on the mountain. "Getting there, at least?"

"The guides know these waters like the back of their hands, and they grew up on them. They should be able to navigate them safely to land. Once they reach shore, Thorin should be able to get them to the mountain," Fíli reassured her. "And once there, hopefully they'll be able to find the secret door."

"Yeah, but you'll forgive me if I'm none too confident in their abilities to even reach the mountain," Elena snarked. "Thorin got lost in the Shire trying to find Bag End - twice."

Fíli snorted, but tried to cover it up as a cough. "In his defense, the map Gandalf gave him led him to the tanneries."

"Wait, what?" Elena asked disbelievingly.

"It's true," Fíli nodded. "Bilbo confirmed it when he saw it. It's part of why Thorin was so..." He paused, trying to think of a polite way to phrase it. 

"Grouchy?" Elena supplied with a raised eyebrow. 

"Skeptical," Fíli said diplomatically, "of Bilbo's ability to be a burglar. Thorin may have some failings when it comes to navigating above ground, but he's not that bad. As best as we can figure out, Gandalf did that to mislead Thorin long enough that he could hopefully convince Bilbo to come along. Of course, we all know how well that turned out."

Elena snickered, picking up some pebbles from the dock and tossing them into the water. "Yes, Bilbo did inform us of what happened that night, including Thorin's charming arrival. I still wish we could have been there earlier. It's always better to see things in person than it is to hear about it."

Fíli shrugged, pulling one knee up and wrapping his arms loosely around it. "True. Which is why I think they'll reach the mountain just fine - it's right there in plain sight in front of them. Not to mention that Thorin grew up here. He knows these lands, at least. Even if he couldn't see the mountain, he'll be able to find it."

"Yeah." Elena sighed, resting her chin on her hands as she leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the mountain. "Do you wish you had gone with them? To see the mountain?"

Fíli didn't answer for a long while, but she knew he was actually thinking about his answer, not just ignoring her. "No," he said at last, surprising her. "At least, not with you here, not with what I know now. Thorin was determined that you stay here, and someone had to look after you."

"Hey! I don't get into that much trouble!" Elena protested. Fíli raised an eyebrow at her than glanced pointedly down at her left arm. While she had removed the sling before traveling to the Master's mansion, she was still under strict orders from Óin to place as little stress upon it as possible. "Okay, fine, I get into some, but that's just the nature of this quest. I swear I wasn't nearly this bad before I met you guys."